It seems that Apple is about to steal GoPro’s idea for mountable cameras as part of sporting equipment.

The US Patent Office gave Apple a patent for a mountable camera designed for outdoor sporting equipment – something which even Jobs’ Mob agrees was invented by GoPro.

In its patent filing, Apple cited weaknesses in GoPro’s camera design, such as “excessive wind resistance” and being “susceptible to damage from vibrations.”

Of course Apple will solve all these problems and it can be controlled by a smartwatch, if Apple ever releases one.

GoPro has dominated the wearable camera market since its inception in 2002, fending off competition from companies like Sony. However the Tame Apple Press claims that now Apple has announced it is entering the market, and that it has a patent GoPro might as well pack up and go home.

The effect was immediate GoPro stock closed at $49.87 after Apple’s announcement, up 73 percent since the company’s June 2014 IPO but down nearly 50 percent from its high of $98.47.

Analysts at this point do not think that Apple will make much impact, but then they stood off while Apple marketed keyboardless netbooks in the shape of rounded rectangles for a while until the Tame Apple Press convinced them and the great unwashed that they actually needed them.

It is possible that the patent will be used to develop cameras on preexisting Apple devices rather than taking on GoPro.

We cornered a few HTC executives and had a friendly chat with Eric Matthes, Country Manager Austria & Switzerland. We talked a lot about Re camera which is a new product from HTC and played with the Re camera, using a Desire Eye phone as a viewfinder.

We could see that the device might end up being popular. Eric drew our attention to a fact that Re camera is much more wearable than any of the competition.

The rival GoPro competitor was mentioned, but Matthes said that Re camera looks much nicer to put in your shirt or suite pocket. We agree that it is definitely less bulky and with IP67 certification it might help people make some cool videos and pictures.

You see a bikers or motorcycle drivers with GoPro mounted on their helmets and they look damn silly. The HTC Re can offer subtle way for recording videos and not look like a tit.

Re is a nice toy but you would have to try it before you buy it, or trust your favorite online or printed reviewer. Having retail demos might be the way to attract more undecided customers but this is something that HTC decides on a regional basis.

Matthes used the word “wearable” for the Re camera, and we think that this sums it up pretty well. If you are in the market for wearable camera this might be the one for you. One can always argue that there is a decent photo and video camera in your phone, but really this is not the same thing.

Let's see how customers react on Re and if it becomes successful there will probably be a new version to follow up. We would not be surprised to see a better sensor, better resolution in a follow up product. The Re camera is new for HTC and the company will learn a lot from its first attempt.

GoPro has announced and officially launched its latest line of Hero cameras, the Hero 3 series. The new Hero3 will be available in three versions, Black, Silver and White, and bring some quite an impressive features packed in a body that is much smaller and lighter than its predecessors.

According to GoPro, the entire lineup is up to 25 percent lighter and 30 percent smaller and all models will feature a built-in WiFi, sharper lens, better low-light performance, improved sound capture thanks to a new algorithm.

The lineup kicks off with a flagship Hero3 Black model capable of capturing 4K video at 12fps, 2.7K video at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps. It can shoot up to 12MP photos at 30 photos per second in a Burst mode. As a flagship model, this one comes bundled with a WiFi remote that can control up to fifty GoPro cameras at up to 600 feet. It also comes with 1050mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery and can take microSD class 10 flash memory at up to 64GB of capacity.

The Hero3 Silver peaks at 1080p at 30fps, shoots up to 11MP photos with 10 fps Burst and, of course, does not come with WiFi remote which can be bought separately. It also lacks "Pro Low-Light Performance" feature found on the Black model but has the same 1050mAh battery. As a part of Hero3 lineup, this one also comes packed in a Hero3 body and has built-in WiFi.

The last is the Hero3 White model that can record up to 1080p at 30fps, can shoot up to 5MP photos at 3 photos per second in Burst mode, has the same 1050mAh battery, lacks the Protune Mode and some other features found on the Silver and Black model.

The launch price is set at US $399.99 for the GoPro Hero3 Black model, US $299.99 for the Silver and US $199.99 for the White one. Although the price might sound a bit steep, you should check out the sample video below before trying to judge these little things.